Court Approved Educational Seminar for Divorcing Parents
This is a seminar focusing on divorce abuse prevention. It provides parents with the skills necessary to make child-focused decisions. Parents learn that their behaviors and choices will determine how their child will ultimately adjust to the divorce. This seminar is designed to educate parents about children’s issues in divorce, including the need to value their co-parent and to understand the importance of communication between homes. The seminar is suited for parents, guardians and caregivers who have filed for a divorce or are involved in a divorce. It is used for court-mandated seminars focusing on children’s issues and family separation.
The seminar benefits children by:
- Reducing their symptoms of stress as parental conflict decreases
- Diminishing their sense of being caught in loyalty binds
- Creating a more relaxed home environment, allowing for easier adjustment
- Increasing the likelihood of keeping two active parents in their lives
- Enhancing their confidence and self-esteem by creating an optimal
environment for growth
The seminar benefits parents by:
- Alerting them to the emotional abuse associated with family separation
- Teaching effective communication and conflict-resolution skills
- Helping them recognize the bond a child has with both parents
- Fostering sensitivity to their child’s needs
- Focusing on present child-rearing issues rather than on past marital issues
The seminar benefits professionals by:
- Alerting them to the devastating effects of divorce abuse on children
- Providing the information necessary for them to reach parents and strengthen the two-home family
- Helping them to identify appropriate services for children and families
- Fostering sensitivity to the needs of separating families
Seminar Format
The seminar explores the issues associated with divorce through a format that incorporates skill development and application as well as small and large group discussion. It offers specific, proven-effective activities that can be implemented easily and safely.
Divorcing Parent Seminar Learning Objectives
Parents and individuals who participate in the seminar will learn to:
- Understand how divorce impacts their children
- Identify “divorce abuse”
- Put their own feelings aside for their child’s best interest
- Avoid divorce abuse by following five steps for prevention
- Recognize how parental conflict negatively influences children
- Take responsibility for their own behaviors
- Recognize the ways in which they can be emotionally abusive to their child
- Keep their child out of the middle of their divorce conflict
- Recognize the importance of their child having both parents in his or her life
- Value the other parent
- Value the importance of extended family
- Disengage from their former spouse and realign as co-parents
- Understand that when they make negative comments about the other parent, they damage their child’s self-esteem
- Recognize the harm of giving the other parent the silent treatment or refusing to communicate
- Honor the Divorce Rules
- Shield their child from unnecessary loyalty binds
- Understand the harm of using their child for emotional support
- Recognize the negative impact of interrogating their child about a parent’s private life
- Acknowledge the danger of holding onto negative assumptions about the other parent
- Recognize the importance of learning to act respectful even if they do not feel respect for the other parent
- Understand how their emotional recovery and grief process will impact their child’s adjustment
- Let go of the past and consider forgiveness
- Recognize the negative ways in which they may stay engaged to each other (focusing on winning, getting even, controlling, or playing victim)
- Practice basic anger management techniques
- Minimize the negative influence of other adults on their co-parenting relationship
- Use business skills to create a new relationship with their co-parent
- Negotiate to solve co-parenting problems
- Recognize the importance of clarifying boundaries for their new relationship
- Develop a new means of communicating between homes
- Understand how their communication style can increase or decrease conflict
- Use effective communication and negotiation skills
- Recognize that co-parenting is forever
You may register by phone: (931.638.0744) or email: [email protected]
Pre-Seminar Guidelines
- You must pre-register for the Seminar. The session is scheduled to conclude in four (4) hours.
- Fee is due prior to attendance date of Seminar. Fee is $100 per person, and $100 per person for additional family members or caregivers. Fee for Seminar is payable via Venmo under Arnold Family Mediation or you may mail check or money order to Amy Arnold, Arnold Family Mediation/Consultation, 1324 Trotwood Avenue, Ste. 8, Columbia, TN
- Childcare is not Please do not bring children to the Seminar.
- Zoom or Microsoft Team sessions available for special circumstances and by appointment only.
- Certificate of Completion provided at end of Seminar.